Page 19 of Not This Place

“We can see that.” Rachel’s brows raised, "Payment for what?"

Jasper looked up at her. His icy blue eyes met hers. He hesitated. "Cheryl was helping me."

Rachel felt a surge of adrenaline at the sudden admission. She planted her hands on the edge of the table and leaned in closer to Jasper.

"Helping you with what?"

Jasper swallowed hard, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. "She was providing me with information about her family's business...for my company."

Rachel straightened up, letting the information sink in.

"So, you bribed Cheryl Danvers to spy on her own family?"

"Yes."

A bitter laugh escaped Rachel's lips as she paced around the room, taking it all in stride. She glanced at Ethan, who hadn't moved from his spot.

"Did you still love her?" Ethan asked, his tone even. Rachel blinked at this sudden shift.

But the words landed hard.

The question sliced through the thick air. Jasper's anger faltered, a flicker of something else in his eyes—pain, maybe regret. He swallowed hard, the sound audible in the quiet room.

"Cheryl..." His voice broke, just a notch, but enough to crack the façade. "She mattered to me.” Jasper continued, the words seeming to cost him. "She needed space. Time to find herself." His hands relaxed, releasing their grip on the chair. “I never would’ve hurt her.”

Rachel had moved now, and leaned against the cold metal frame of the door, her posture rigid as she studied Jasper. His confession hung in the air like a noose, swaying gently. Rachel's eyes narrowed; she had seen men spill their guts under pressure before, but something about Jasper's sudden vulnerability didn't sit right with her.

Jasper's chest rose and fell in measured breaths. He held Rachel's gaze with an intensity that bordered on defiance. There was no quiver in his lip, no twitch at the corner of his eye. He seemed more a statue than a man, carved from stone rather than flesh and blood.

“You seem real broken up over it,” she murmured.

"Emotions," Jasper spat the word out like a seed he'd found in his fruit. "I don't parade them for an audience."

The statement ricocheted around Rachel's mind. She prowled closer, boots silent on the floor. Her stare didn't waver. She dissected him, piece by piece, looking for the micro expressions, the involuntary tells that screamed guilt or innocence. But Jasper was a sealed vault.

"Convenient," she said, voice steady as a pulse.

Jasper's hands lay flat on the table, veins etched like blueprints to a heart she wasn't sure existed. "Truth doesn't need theatrics, Ranger."

Rachel circled the table, her movements deliberate. Each step was a question, each breath a challenge. Jasper tracked her like prey, his eyes never leaving hers. She could feel the heat of his gaze, the unspoken tension stretching between them.

Rachel leaned in, her voice cold and sharp. "Half a million, Jasper. What was Cheryl doing for that kind of money? Why spy? Like you said, your business was a hundred times larger.”

Jasper's eyes flicked to the slip and back to Rachel's unwavering stare. He shifted in his seat, discomfort creeping into his posture. "She had information of a land acquisition deal," he muttered, a weak attempt to deflect.

He opened his mouth, then closed it. His jaw clenched as if locking away words. Seconds stretched out.

"Cheryl was resourceful," Jasper said at last, voice barely above a whisper.

“Why betray her own family? She was dating someone new. Why stay connected with you? Was it the money? Did that piss you off? Maybe get you to lash out?”

Jasper's hands clasped together, knuckles whitening as he leaned forward. "It was more than just espionage," he said, a hint of something like respect threading through his voice. "Cheryl... she was the key to everything…”

“Everything? Like what?”

He just frowned at them, shrugging. “I didn’t kill her. Her death costs me more than you know.

Rachel remained motionless, absorbing the gravity of his words. She observed the tension in Jasper's shoulders, the slight tremor in his grip. "Who else knew about the deal?" she asked. Her tone cut through the silence that had settled over them like a thick fog.

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